Film: ‘Looper’ is your next great time-travel film

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has occupied movie theaters by having one movie released each of the past three months with The Dark Knight Rises, Premium Rush, and now Looper. Gordon-Levitt clearly was involved with a hit pertaining to The Dark Knight Rises but not so much with Premium Rush. Now it seems like he might be back on the hit-track with Looper.

Plot

In the year 2044, there are hit men, by the name of “Loopers,” that are assigned to kill victims of the mob that have been sent from the future. This job comes with a price. The mob wants to cover all their tracks of what they’re doing so if one of their Loopers lives to a certain age, the mob will send him in the past and have him killed. That process is called “closing the loop.” A Looper by the name of Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) runs into this very problem. While waiting for his next assignment, Joe is surprised when he realizes his next victim is his future self. Older Joe (Bruce Willis) then escapes leaving younger Joe on a mission to find and kill himself before the mob catches him for not completing the task. Catching older Joe becomes even more difficult when younger Joe realizes that his future self has a mission of his own.

Positives

There is plenty to rave about with this film. Even with a complex plot, the movie does a great job explaining it throughout the beginning. Also, the film portrays what the future could be like in the year 2044 in a fairly realistic way. Of course there are elements added for the sake of the plot but the other little things seemed to have a good blend of the present and what could come of the future. Looper takes a very interesting storyline and it develops well especially when it comes to meeting both Joes. The transition of letting the viewer see both points from the view of each Joe when it comes to their first meeting played out well. The dialogue in the film also does a great job helping move the story along. The few touches of humor added really fit in well.

Looper deals well with a time travel plot. The effect of changing one thing and end up changing much more is constantly on the characters’ mind and is perfectly worked into at the end of the movie. Cast wise, Gordon-Levitt and Willis were entertaining as a young Joe and older Joe respectively. Emily Blunt as Sara also showed off her skills with the American accent she used.

Negatives

Looper appeared as if it was going to play out as a great action movie from the way some scenes played out through the first act but that wasn’t necessarily the case. Once the second act arrived, things slowed down completely as Looper moved forward. From then on, there wasn’t a great amount of action to see. Also, the involvement of the character Cid (Pierce Gagnon) comes as unexpected and somewhat odd. Towards the end of the film, I started to become settled with the direction the film decided to go when it came to Cids character but I still can’t help to feel that the writers could have come up with a storyline that is equally as compelling.

Last Words

Rian Johnson brings some fresh air into the film industry with this unique story. An excellent script and cast help the uniqueness play out well. Not only do we get a great film but we also get a movie that plays well into the unexpected theme of “fight for the ones you love.”